Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Arrival of the Turks
During the reign of Dušan's son, Uroš, various factions tussled for power and the Balšić
family rose to prominence in Zeta. The Balšići established a base near Skadar and began
claiming territory along the Adriatic coast. In the north the Venetians reappeared. By the
time Uroš died, Serbian barons were busy squabbling amongst themselves, oblivious to a
greater threat that was steadily advancing through the Balkans: the Ottoman Turks.
By 1441 the Ottomans had rolled through Serbia and in the late 1470s they lunged at the
previously unbowed region of Zeta. Ivan Crnojević led a beleaguered group of Zetan sur-
vivors to the easily defensible and inaccessible heights near Mt Lovćen and in 1482 estab-
lished a court and a monastery at what was to become Cetinje. Around this time Venetian
sailors began calling Mt Lovćen the Monte Negro (meaning 'black mountain'). Mean-
while, the Ottomans continued assailing Cetinje and succeeded in overrunning it in 1514.
THE BATTLE OF KOSOVO POLJE
In 1386 the Ottoman Turks took the Serbian stronghold at Niš, then in 1389 at Kosovo Polje the amassed armies
of Serbian Prince Lazar and Ottoman Sultan Murat met. This proved to be one of the most pivotal events in
Balkan history. Both leaders were killed and while neither side could conclusively claim victory, the Serbian em-
pire was emphatically brought to an end and the Ottomans were free to continue their march into central Europe.
Lazar's widow accepted Ottoman suzerainty and the battle entered Serbian legend, portrayed as a noble and ulti-
mately hopeless act of Serbian bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
The battle remains a defining part of Serbian identity to this day and partly explains Serb hostility to the notion
of an independent Albanian-dominated Kosovo. You'll see '
Kosovo je Srbija
' (Kosovo
is
Serbia) graffiti
throughout Serbia and the Serb-identified parts of Montenegro, often accompanied by '1389', the date of the
battle.
